1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to imagers, and more particularly to semiconductor imagers having recessed color filter arrays.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent developments in the electronics industry have increased demand for imagers that digitally capture images. Among other things, semiconductor imagers (e.g., CMOS imagers) are known to provide certain advantages over other types of imagers, for example, small system size, low power consumption, camera-on-a-chip integration, and low fabrication costs.
As semiconductor imagers are used in smaller devices, there has been a need to reduce the sizes of semiconductor imagers. Attempts have been made to provide a semiconductor imager with a small stack height.
One approach is to use a recessed color filter array (CFA), as discussed in co-owned, pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/513,246, filed Aug. 31, 2006 entitled RECESSED COLOR FILTER ARRAY AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME. A color filter array is an imager component which filters lights of different colors prior to conversion of an image into an electrical signal. A typical color filter array is formed on an imager substrate. Unlike the typical color filter array, a recessed color filter array is positioned in a recess formed into an imager substrate. An imager with a recessed color filter array thus has a reduced stack height.